Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced that the Circuit Court of Cook County Italian Heritage Month Courthouse Tour will take place on Wednesday, October 11, 2006, in the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street in Chicago. Co-sponsoring the tour are the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans and the Justinian Society of Lawyers.

The tour offers the public a sense of the day-to-day operations in one of the nation’s largest unified court systems. Tour highlights include a visit to a courtroom to observe a trial in progress, an informal presentation by a Circuit Court judge, and the opportunity to meet with bar association representatives. Tour participants receive the Circuit Court of Cook County Informational Guide which contains an overview of the court, a directory of court and county services, and background on the trial process.

The Italian Heritage Month Courthouse Tour is part of the court’s year-round Community Heritage Month Courthouse Tour Series which combines public education activities with national and local observances marking racial and ethnic diversity. Tours are also held during Arab Heritage Month, Asian Pacific Heritage Month, Black History Month, Polish Heritage Month, Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month and on Puerto Rican Heritage Day. The tours have been attended by thousands of Cook County residents.

Individuals or groups planning to attend the Italian Heritage Month Courthouse Tour may contact Milissa Pacelli, of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Public Affairs Office, at 312.603.1927 on or before October 4, 2006. The tour is limited to persons age ten and older, with a maximum of 35 persons to a group. Reservations are recommended. The tour will depart at 10 a.m. from the Daley Center’s west lobby located on the Randolph Street and Clark Street side of the building.

For more information about other courthouse tours and general information on the Circuit Court of Cook County, visit www.cookcountycourt.org.